England v Australia: Tying the kangaroo down is becoming an English speciality at Twickenham. Two years ago Australia may have had only 13 men on the field when Dan Luger scored his injury-time winning try, but the first-half display by England's pack in last year's 21-15 victory was ruthlessly convincing.
A possible third success in a row over the Wallabies, though, comes with strings attached.
It may seem strange to query a team who scored three tries in beating New Zealand's All Blacks in a pulsating Test only seven days ago, but today's encounter with the world champions, as the head coach Clive Woodward suggested yesterday, is a significant game for both sides. England, quite simply, find it harder to score tries against Australia than any other Test nation; and the Wallabies, beaten by Ireland last weekend, are keen to pose as potent an attacking threat as the All Blacks did last week. If the rival coaches are to be believed in a week of decoy mania, it is a recipe for another thrilling spectacle.
From England's point of view, it is time to demonstrate their back play is slick enough to pierce the tough antipodean screen in front of them. In six games against Australia under Woodward they have managed only four tries and conceded 20, even if 11 of those were in the 76-0 defeat in Brisbane in 1998. The management, though, see it more as a tribute to the Australian defensive strength and, therefore, no great cause for alarm.
England have the players, such as Jonny Wilkinson, James Simpson-Daniel and Jason Robinson, to cause individual mayhem; the only lingering doubt is whether they can finish off the chances they create on the pressure occasions. Add to that the legitimate concerns over the angles of running which served New Zealand so well last Saturday and it is a big game for those in the English midfield.
If the dropping of Lawrence Dallaglio to the bench proves anything it is that England are demanding a serious work-rate at all times, in which context the loss of Trevor Woodman is a heavy blow after his excellent game against the All Blacks. The flip side is that the ever-reliable prop Jason Leonard is back in the starting line-up for the first time in a year and will win his 98th England cap. England also feel Australia have named their best-possible pack and expect the Wallabies to be 20 points better than they were in the Lansdowne Road quagmire.
Their captain°, George Gregan, having flown from here to maternity and back this week, is under pressure to produce a performance as impressive as his air-mile account and the Wallabies have yet to concede a try on tour. Injuries have prevented Eddie Jones from fielding Mat Rogers but in Stirling Mortlock he has an in-form, muscular presence who will give Simpson-Daniel a serious test.
REPLACEMENTS
ENGLAND - M Regan (Leeds), D Grewcock (Bath), L Dallaglio (Wasps), A Gomarsall (Gloucester), A Healey (Leicester), T Stimpson (Leicester).
AUSTRALIA - A Freier (NSW), B Darwin, D Giffin (ACT Brumbies), C Whitaker (NSW), M Giteau (ACT Brumbies), S
Staniforth (NSW).
REFEREE: Paul Honiss (New Zealand)
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